Lesson Plan: They Talk, Teen Listen

Essential Questions

• What does it take to bring an idea to life?
• What does it mean to make yourself vulnerable? What do you gain by doing that?

Literature Connection

• Podcasts: Teenager Therapy; Dear Hank & John
• Graphic novel (for more advanced readers): Out on the Wire by Jessica Abel

Make a Connection (5 minutes)

Ask students if they listen to podcasts. If they do, why? What do they like about the format? How does it compare with reading or watching a video? If they don’t, why not? Do they find it hard to pay attention while listening, or have they simply not found a podcast that interests them?

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Guide students to locate the story. Preview the text features by asking the following questions:

• Read the article’s title and subtitle. Find the photo of the podcast’s hosts. They’re celebrating their 100th episode. Why do you think this might be a big deal? Doing 100 instances of anything (e.g., writing in a journal, practicing a sport, volunteering, etc.) takes dedication. The fact that creating a podcast is a group effort and requires various technical skills makes it even tougher. It’s clear that this is a big feat.
• Look at the sidebar “Teenager Therapy Celebrity Interviews.” Which celebrities do you recognize? Which one would you most want to listen to on a podcast episode? Why? Answers will vary.
• The last section of the article is titled “Changing Lives.” How do you think a podcast can change lives? Sample answer: A podcast can change lives in many ways. Sometimes podcast hosts make the listeners feel as though they’re part of a conversation with good friends. This can make listeners feel connected and less alone. Podcasts can also inspire people to make a change, either in their personal lives or in their communities, or to see the world in a different way.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (podcasts, surpassed, vulnerable, depression, commiserated) aloud and discuss the definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

• Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that after reading, they’ll identify cause-and-effect relationships in the story. Point out the activity at the end of the story.
• Encourage students to pause at the end of each section so they can monitor their comprehension. Prompt them to note sentences they think tell them important ideas in each section, as well as any words or sentences they don’t understand.

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions..

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

• How did Gael get the idea to make a podcast for teens? (cause and effect) The idea came to him in the shower. He had been listening to a lot of podcasts but hadn’t come across one where you could just listen in on a conversation teenagers were having. He decided to round up his friends and make it himself.
• How did Gael and his friends feel after uploading their first episode? What reaction did it get? (inference) Gael and his friends were nervous. The article states that they “weren’t sure what to expect.” With over a million podcasts to choose from, people might not have noticed theirs. But the next morning, Gael saw that people had downloaded the podcast. It was getting attention.
• What makes Teenager Therapy different from most other podcasts? (central idea) On Teenager Therapy, the hosts aim to have open conversations that you wouldn’t get to hear anywhere else. Their mission is to spread the message that it’s OK to be vulnerable and  put your feelings out there. That makes the podcast special. These honest conversations on uncomfortable topics make listeners feel connected to the hosts.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

• Why do you think it might be hard to be vulnerable, whether it’s in front of an audience of 100,000 or one-on-one with a friend? (making connections) Making yourself vulnerable means sharing feelings that are important to you. When you do that, there’s a risk that your listener might react in a way that you’re not expecting or that’s even hurtful. They may make light of what you’re saying, think your feelings are unjustified, or make you feel bad for having those feelings. Opening yourself up to these types of responses is what’s hard about being vulnerable.
• Gael had an idea, and within a short time, he turned it into reality. What do you think it takes to make an idea come to life? (drawing conclusions) Sample answer: To make an idea come to life takes some courage. You don’t know that the idea will work out the way you imagine it, so there’s a risk of failure. In order to take the first steps despite that risk, you need to have faith. Having a plan, having support from family and friends, and having time and energy are also important in bringing an idea to life. 

• Assign students to work in small groups to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Cause and Effect activity.
• Go further: Use our Sequence of Events Skill Builder, available in higher and lower level versions.  (Click here to view all your Skill Builders.)
• Writing prompt: If you were to make a podcast, what would it be about? Think about the topic(s) you would want to cover (science, books, relationships, fashion, etc.) and the format in which you would want to cover them (interview, storytelling, conversational, etc.). Based on the topic(s) and format, come up with a name for your podcast. Then write the description for your show that would appear in a podcast app. It should be about one paragraph long and tell listeners what to expect from your podcast.